“Open wine?”
She grins and my heart knocks so hard it hurts. “I can definitely do that!” She grabs the rabbit corkscrew thing and sets about opening a bottle of Shiraz sitting on the side table.
“Glasses in the cupboard above the sink.” My hands are already deep into the minced veal and pork so I’d usually grab them. Instead I track her as she reaches up, full breasts straining against the thin cotton of her blouse as she takes down two glasses.
I don’t have to watch.
I want to.
Swallowing a bolt of lust, I return to the raw meat mixture coating my hands. It should be enough to dampen my ardor, but do you think it is?
That would be a negative.
“Should I get you a straw? Or maybe a sippy cup?”
I arch an eyebrow. “I can wait a couple of minutes. Almost done here.”
With the meatballs in the frying pan, I wash my hands and pick up the glass.
“Thanks for inviting me,” she says, suddenly diffident, another look on her that I didn’t expect. I like it.
Hell, I like all her looks. Smartass, go-getter, feisty, annoyed, soft, strong. I especially like that look on her face when she’s just been kissed to distraction.
“Thanks for staying, despite the underhanded tactics of my evil twin.” After taking a sip, I move the meatballs around in the pan, then check the sauce which is bubbling nicely.
“You guys must be really close.”
“We are. It’s been the two of us since my parents passed when we were in our early twenties.”
“What happened?”
“Car crash. One minute they were celebrating twenty-five years of marriage, the next, gone when some idiot went the wrong way on the Long Island Expressway.” It was part of the reason why I stayed with Tori despite the warning signs. I needed to get it right, keep my little family together and honor my parents in some way.
A quick look finds her nodding in sympathy. She lost her mom, so I know she gets it.
I clear my throat. “When Chiara got a job out here about six years ago, it felt like I’d lost a big part of myself. She’s always been the person I turn to.”
“Did your ex-wife get along with her?”
God, no. “They hated each other. No one was more pleased to see Chiara move out of New York than my ex. Oil and water, y’know. But really it boils down to Chiara being very protective of me and Lena. She never thought Tori was good enough for us.”
“What did you think?”
I flick a glance over my shoulder. The last thing I need is for Lena to hear any of this.
“Tori’s happier now. I think we all are.”
Abby senses my discomfort and leans in, ensuring only the two of us would ever share this. It feels so good to be this close to her, even if it’s a by-product of my sob story.
“You were together for a while?”
“Ten years that was ten years too long, to be honest. We shouldn’t have married but I couldn’t bear the thought of not being with my kid. And in the end, it turned out marriage wasn’t so necessary for that after all.”
“Your worst decision, maybe?”
I jerk to attention. “What?”
“That night at the diner you said sharing that pie with me was your second worst decision. You wouldn’t tell me your first.”
Huh, I didn’t expect to be thrown back into that moment when Cherry Pie and I connected for the first time. Or to be seen so clearly it rattles me. “I guess I’m not one for giving up on something, even if it’s not good for me.”
She colors, which cheers me big time. We can both play the perceptive game.
“Lena was talking about her mom’s wedding before you got home. She said you changed your mind.”
“I did. Turns out it’s not all about me.”
“Hmm, funny how that works.”
“You’re an inspiration to us all, Sullivan.”
She chuckles, takes a sip of her wine. “She mentioned that she was worried you were upset because you guys used to fight about her.”
“About Lena? Partly.” Lena is usually quiet about that, so maybe she needs an ear outside the family.
“She implied that you guys parted ways because of your conflict over her. I told her there were probably lots of reasons why you would fight. I’m sure you’ve told her the divorce wasn’t her fault but kids seem to internalize that.”
I nod slowly, thinking it through. I probably haven’t been as open with Lena about the reasons for the divorce. She knows about the affair but we were kaput long before that.
“Yeah, I was looking for something different from my marriage. A partner in all things, not just someone to party with. Tori had different notions about that.” Getting a bit too in the weeds there. “Thanks for talking to her,” I say, my voice so low that it pulls her in closer. Close enough to smell her scent over the hearty tomato fragrance in the kitchen.
After getting over the initial shock of seeing Abby in my home, I took a moment to enjoy the sight of her playing video games with my daughter, eating her baked treats, connecting with her through those tattoos. That’s what Lena needs—people who love and accept her unconditionally. Tori hated that Lena was a gamer, thinking it another sign that we were raising “a lesbian.”
I can surround myself with good people who will be good for my daughter, even someone like Abby. As a friend.
“Chiara and I try to talk to her about these things, but sometimes we can’t help letting our feelings about Tori filter through. She’s smart and sensitive, and picks up on that. Because I find it hard to sound neutral, I sometimes choose to say nothing at all.”
She peers up at me, all blue-eyed loveliness and my instincts to kiss her are so fucking strong I almost buckle. Instead I move the conversation to uber-personal territory because if I can’t lay my lips on her, maybe I can emote some other way.
“Tori’s marrying one of my co-workers back in the firehouse.”
She grasps my arm. “Roman, I’m so sorry. Were they—?”
“They were. Everyone knew but me. He wasn’t a particular friend but my captain at the firehouse was and he covered it up. It was a whole thing.”
“I bet it was. So that’s why you separated from FDNY and came out here.”
“There was a bit more to it. I punched my captain—my friend—and though I could have moved to another ladder, it’s the kind of thing that follows you. To be honest, getting out of New York was good for us both, though it was tough on Lena to start.”
“Of course it would be!” Her hand still lays curled around my arm, like she can’t get enough of my heat. My gaze dips to her forearm, covered in Lena’s tattoos. Lena has been going mad for those lately, which are apparently all the rage with her friends. I want to kiss them, then kiss Abby everywhere else.
“Starting over like that is huge and you’re doing this to make the best life for your kid.”
That she gets it feels like the sun shining light on a dark place. “Chiara was going through some stuff at the time with her wife and needed a shoulder. It seemed like it would be good for all of us.”
“Family is everything to you. I get it. And then you landed right back into the fire when you ran into my dad.”